Earth Today Research Articles

The Massalia asteroid family as the origin of ordinary L chondrites.

Studies of micrometeorites in mid-Ordovician limestones and impact craterson Earth indicate that our planet witnessed a massive infall of ordinary L chondrite material about 466 million years ago1-3 that may have been at the origin of an Ordovician ice age and major turnover in biodiversity4. The breakup of a large asteroid in the main belt is the likely cause of this massive infall. Currently, material originating from this breakup still dominates meteorite falls (>20% of all falls)5. Here we provide spectroscopic observations and dynamical evidence that the Massalia collisional family is the only plausible source of this catastrophic event and the most abundant class of meteorites falling on Earth today. This family of asteroidsis suitably located in the inner belt, at low-inclination orbits, which corresponds to the observed distribution of L-chondrite-like near-Earth objects and interplanetary dust concentrated at 1.4° (refs. 6,7).

Is plate tectonics a post-Archean phenomenon? A petrological perspective

The petrogenesis of contemporary igneous and metamorphic rocks is commonly explained by plate tectonics, but how far back in time does this relationship hold? Here we investigate whether the distinctive petrological features of recent ocean crust, subduction-related magmatism and regional metamorphism can be unambiguously identified in the Archean geological record. From an igneous perspective based on geological relationships and Th–Nb systematics, it is difficult to claim that any Archean ‘ophiolite’ was part of a global plate system rather than deriving from a plume ascending through attenuating lithosphere. Furthermore, the rarity of subduction-related rocks, particularly their plutonic equivalents, which have good preservation potential, is consistent with the concept of local convergence and short-lived subduction. From a metamorphic perspective, the appearance of orogenic eclogites in the Paleoproterozoic, the widespread occurrence of blueschists and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks since the late Neoproterozoic, and a change from a unimodal to a bimodal distribution of metamorphic T / P during the Proterozoic, are responses to secular cooling and the evolution of global tectonics since the Archean. Our petrological perspective is that plate tectonics analogous to that on Earth today is probably a post-Archean phenomenon.

L-chondrite body breakup in Ordovician strata in China - A time tie point globally and across the inner solar system

More than a quarter of all meteorites falling on Earth today originate from the breakup of the L-chondrite parent body (LCPB) ∼470 Ma ago, the largest documented asteroid breakup in the past ∼3 Ga. The event had a profound impact on the inner Solar System, resulting in an orders-of-magnitude increase in L-chondritic material in mid-Ordovician sediments on Earth. Here we show based on Ordovician strata at Puxi River, China, and Hällekis, Sweden, that the first arrival of LCPB dust to Earth can be used for global high-resolution correlation. The approach unravels a remarkable parallelism in facies development between distant paleocontinents and environmental perturbations on a global scale, possibly related to cooling of Earth by LCPB dust. In the Puxi River section, the first L-chondritic dust coincides with volcanic ash zircons, allowing U-Pb dating of the LCPB breakup. Ages determined from both sedimentary ash and recent L chondrites are consistently close to 470 Ma. A more precise age assessment is method-dependent, but the dual and independent dating options allow unique calibration possibilities. A similar increase in LCPB-derived dust as in Earth's sediments may exist in coeval layered deposits on Mars, the Moon, and large asteroids and may be used as a chronostratigraphic tie point on an astronomical scale.

Wood-Ljungdahl pathway encoding anaerobes facilitate low-cost primary production in hypersaline sediments at Great Salt Lake, Utah.

Little is known of primary production in dark hypersaline ecosystems despite the prevalence of such environments on Earth today and throughout its geologic history. Here, we generated and analyzed metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) organized as operational taxonomic units (OTUs) from three depth intervals along a 30-cm sediment core from the north arm of Great Salt Lake, Utah. The sediments and associated porewaters were saturated with NaCl, exhibited redox gradients with depth, and harbored nitrogen-depleted organic carbon. Metabolic predictions of MAGs representing 36 total OTUs recovered from the core indicated that communities transitioned from aerobic and heterotrophic at the surface to anaerobic and autotrophic at depth. Dark CO2 fixation was detected in sediments and the primary mode of autotrophy was predicted to be via the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway. This included novel hydrogenotrophic acetogens affiliated with the bacterial class Candidatus Bipolaricaulia. Minor populations were dependent on the Calvin cycle and the reverse tricarboxylic acid cycle, including in a novel Thermoplasmatota MAG. These results are interpreted to reflect the favorability of and selectability for populations that operate the lowest energy requiring CO2-fixation pathway known, the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway, in anoxic and hypersaline conditions that together impart a higher energy demand on cells.

Biogenic Sulfur Gases as Biosignatures on Temperate Sub-Neptune Waterworlds

Theoretical predictions and observational data indicate a class of sub-Neptune exoplanets may have water-rich interiors covered by hydrogen-dominated atmospheres. Provided suitable climate conditions, such planets could host surface liquid oceans. Motivated by recent JWST observations of K2-18 b, we self-consistently model the photochemistry and potential detectability of biogenic sulfur gases in the atmospheres of temperate sub-Neptune waterworlds for the first time. On Earth today, organic sulfur compounds produced by marine biota are rapidly destroyed by photochemical processes before they can accumulate to significant levels. Domagal-Goldman et al. suggest that detectable biogenic sulfur signatures could emerge in Archean-like atmospheres with higher biological production or low UV flux. In this study, we explore biogenic sulfur across a wide range of biological fluxes and stellar UV environments. Critically, the main photochemical sinks are absent on the nightside of tidally locked planets. To address this, we further perform experiments with a 3D general circulation model and a 2D photochemical model (VULCAN 2D) to simulate the global distribution of biogenic gases to investigate their terminator concentrations as seen via transmission spectroscopy. Our models indicate that biogenic sulfur gases can rise to potentially detectable levels on hydrogen-rich water worlds, but only for enhanced global biosulfur flux (≳20 times modern Earth’s flux). We find that it is challenging to identify DMS at 3.4 μm where it strongly overlaps with CH4, whereas it is more plausible to detect DMS and companion byproducts, ethylene (C2H4) and ethane (C2H6), in the mid-infrared between 9 and 13 μm.

GROSS NATIONAL HAPPINESS (GNH): A WAY FROM NATIONAL HAPPINESS TO GLOBAL HAPPINESS

Chasing happiness has become a global agenda in todays unrest life where everyone is helpless before stressful living standard, unsustainable environment, unknown pandemics, ill physical, mental and emotional health, poor psychological wellbeing, pervasive influence of technology, relentless search of self-interest at any cost and so on. Globalising development with happiness is the cry of the Earth today. From the core of Himalayan mountain range, Bhutan, a land- locked country, in a state of peace, good will, natural preservation and promotion of culture, Environmental Conservation, Good Governance and Sustainable and equitable socio- economic development, concerted on Gross National Happiness (GNH), endorsing GNP and GDP as unsustainable measures of development with happiness. The operationalization of the methods and tools of GNH is also improving the quality of the living standard of the people of Bhutan as per the GNH survey 2022. Against this background, the paper is an attempt to generalise the GNH model of happiness in Bhutan in particular and over the globe in general. KEY WORDS: Gross National Happiness, Sustainable Development, Global Happiness, Environmental conservation, Good Governance,

Problematics of Qibla Direction Determination in Sei Lepan Brandan District, Langkat Regency (Analysis of MUI Fatwa No. 5 of 2010 on the Amendment of MUI Fatwa No. 3 of 2010)

Qibla direction has always been a special concern of the MUI Fatwa Commission. With this paper, it is intended to find out something that has been behind the problem of determining the Qibla direction with the issuance of the Indonesian Ulema Council Fatwa No. 5 of 2010 on the Amendment of the Indonesian Ulema Council Fatwa No. 3 of 2010. This research uses qualitative field research (Field Research) and library research (Library Research), in an analytical descriptive method. The results of the study inform that a change in the fatwa of the Indonesian Ulema Council that has been related to the Qibla position needs to be addressed reasonably. A change that occurs only in a third dictum is that changes the position of the West to the Northwest which is the Qibla of Indonesian Muslims. The first fatwa number 03/2010 only used a fiqh approach, while the next fatwa number 05/2010 used a fiqh approach, astronomy science, and falak science. In addition, determining the Qibla position is not difficult if it is carried out with an expert, even anyone can do it even in a simple way, namely Rashdul Qiblah. Therefore, calculating the Qibla position which is essentially a calculation that aims to determine the position of the Kaaba of Mecca from a position on the surface of the earth today which then every person who has performed prayers, either with a condition that is standing, ruku', or prostration which is always in a position towards the ka'bah.

About this title - Asian Geodynamics, Climate and Biodiversity

How do tectonics and climate force surface processes and the evolution of biodiversity in Asia? This book examines some of the most biogeographically distinct and tectonically active areas on Earth today that straddle the highest mountains and spread across equatorial islands, offering insights into the complex processes driving their evolution.

Cosmic dust fertilization of glacial prebiotic chemistry on early Earth

AbstractEarth’s surface is deficient in available forms of many elements considered limiting for prebiotic chemistry. In contrast, many extraterrestrial rocky objects are rich in these same elements. Limiting prebiotic ingredients may, therefore, have been delivered by exogenous material; however, the mechanisms by which exogeneous material may be reliably and non-destructively supplied to a planetary surface remains unclear. Today, the flux of extraterrestrial matter to Earth is dominated by fine-grained cosmic dust. Although this material is rarely discussed in a prebiotic context due to its delivery over a large surface area, concentrated cosmic dust deposits are known to form on Earth today due to the action of sedimentary processes. Here we combine empirical constraints on dust sedimentation with dynamical simulations of dust formation and planetary accretion to show that localized sedimentary deposits of cosmic dust could have accumulated in arid environments on early Earth, in particular glacial settings that today produce cryoconite sediments. Our results challenge the widely held assumption that cosmic dust is incapable of fertilizing prebiotic chemistry. Cosmic dust deposits may have plausibly formed on early Earth and acted to fertilize prebiotic chemistry.

Analysis of Variances in Flame Length of Time For Maggot BSF Oil with Several Types of Oil

Three problems are being faced simultaneously by Earth today: water (wastewater), energy, and food. However, considering the finite amount of land and the depletion of fossil fuels, this expansion is incompatible with the replenishment of natural resources in terms of both quantity and quality. Furthermore, another sustainable energy source that has gained international attention is biodiesel. However, research on the relative flash durations of Maggot BSFL oil has not been conducted. Consequently, this article will compare the flame times of many other types of oil with Maggot BSFL oil. This study uses a variety of oils as experimental subjects, including BSF maggot oil, used cooking oil, Pertamina Dex, and a combination of Pertamina Dex and BSF maggot oil. Analysis of the variations in flame time for each type of oil is done using statistical analysis. According to this analysis, the mixture of Maggot BSF oil and Pertamina Dex had the maximum flame, lasting between 16.31 and 16.44 minutes. Additionally, this study offers data on the notable variations in flame length for each type of oil, including used cooking oil, Pertamina Dex, Maggot BSF oil, and a combination of both. When creating biodiesel from Maggot BSF oil, the experiment's findings can serve as a starting point. in order for biodiesel made from Maggot BSF oil to provide Indonesia with a fresh option for the development of sustainable energy.

The praxis and imaginary of Environmental and Sustainability Education in the Capitalocene

This introduction to the special edition on the praxis and imaginary of Environmental and Sustainability Education (ESE) in the Capitalocene focuses on developing an argument about the underpinnings of the Capitalocene to shape our educational response to it. The statement that this article rests upon is that the Capitalocene is the driver of environmental damage on Earth today. Hence, if ESE is to have any impact it must address the Capitalocene as a matter of urgency. The Capitalocene is defined as a recent offshoot of the Anthropocene, wherein the processes of capital have captured the human population and led to the consequent capitalist human society as being primarily responsible for detrimentally altering the environment. To enable change in the Capitalocene, this article investigates the unconscious drives that have created the Anthropocene (and hence the Capitalocene) and invents a novel approach to ESE based on dark theory.

Assessment of long-term trends in a threatened grassland bird community using daily bird lists

Summary Open natural ecosystems (ONEs), such as tropical grasslands, are among the most threatened habitats on Earth today. The long-term monitoring of ONEs is an important research domain that is essential for understanding anthropogenic impacts and facilitating conservation action. Using a simple day-listing method over a 13-year period, we studied species trends in a central Indian grassland–agriculture mosaic experiencing several land-use changes. Our results indicate that some grassland species (such as the Great Indian Bustard Ardeotis nigriceps) showed steep declines during the study period, while other generalist species (such as the Indian Peafowl Pavo cristatus) showed an increasing trend. Daily listing also revealed distinct seasonal patterns, and we discuss the Great Indian Bustard and Western Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus as examples. Our study highlights the utility of consistent checklist surveys to monitor population trends of bird communities within a changing landscape.

A case study on distillate output of solar still using toner waste powder coated absorber plate

Potable water is limited on the earth today, and its use is increasing day by day due to the industrial revolution and population. Solar still is a simple device used to convert saline/brackish water into potable water by application of solar energy. The distillate output of solar still remains lower. Also, it is the main problem of the solar still, so the researchers are trying to discover new innovations to improve distillate output. The main objective of this research paper is to use toner waste powder (TWP) mixed with black paint and its effect on distillate output and energy-exergy efficiency analysis. Toner waste powder characterized by FESEM and XRD tests. In the present work, two similar-sized solar stills have been used under climate conditions of Palanpur (24.1724° N, 72.4346° E), India, from April 2022 to May 2022. Observations of solar stills like water, inner glass cover temperature, distillate output, wind speed and solar intensity are measured every hour during experimental days. It has been found that the coating of the absorber plate with toner waste powder improved distillate output by 55.71 % and 51.90 % at water depths 2 cm and 3 cm as compared with the conventional solar still & 9.54 % higher at 2 cm water depth compared to 3 cm water depth. Energy and exergy efficiency also increased with the toner waste powder in solar still. From this research work, it has been concluded that the toner waste powder is a good low-cost material to increase the distillate output, energy and exergy efficiency.

The Many Reasons Why Not to Commit Suicide: The Case of "Maggie"

This case describes the treatment of Maggie, a first-year college student dealing with depression, trauma, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. It illustrates a conceptualization and practice that takes place within a guiding conception positioned in the "unification pathway" to psychotherapy integration. Specifically, I have developed a foundational, meta-theoretical "big picture," science-based "Unified Theory of Knowledge" (UTOK) that frames the work. It is a model of the evolution of energy, matter, mind, and culture within our universe’s history—that is, from the "big bang" to the multicultural, complex, human societies that dominate the earth today. Within the UTOK metapsychology (Henriques, 2022a), I have described where the discipline of psychology and the theory and practice of psychotherapy are positioned—allowing psychology and psychotherapy to be potentially grounded in a coherent naturalistic ontology that does not reduce to physicalism or overly rely on a natural science empirical epistemology. UTOK shows how we can retranslate the standard biopsychosocial model into a model that defines the layers of existence in terms of life (the realm of living organisms), mind (the realm of minded animals), and culture (the realm of human persons). It uses this new big picture framework to reframe and realign the key insights from the four major approaches to individual psychotherapy—behavioral, experiential/humanistic, psychodynamic, and cognitive—since each school of thought captures crucial aspects of human behavior and experience, both in its flourishing and its entrenchment in maladaptive patterns. Because of the scope and complexity of UTOK, it is not possible to fully summarize it in the pages allotted to it in a PCSP case study. Rather, in the psychotherapy case study of Maggie below, the reader is offered a basic outline of UTOK’s overall structure to provide a sense of what it is all about, together with plentiful references to learn more details about UTOK (e.g., Henriques, 2011, 2022a). This outline is then followed by psychotherapy-specific concepts and a central therapeutic technique—CALM-MO—that logically follow from UTOK and were central in Maggie’s treatment, which is then presented in detail and discussed.

In-situ phosphate U-Pb ages of the L chondrites

The thermal history of asteroids is recorded by the radioisotopic ages of meteorites that derive from them. Radioisotopic ages may date a number of events, such as the cooling of a parent body during waning radiogenic metamorphism, rapid cooling experienced upon parent body break-up, and/or subsequent collision-induced reheating of material. However, sampling statistics for meteorite radioisotope ages are currently relatively low and most are derived from analyses of bulk material, therefore lacking the in-situ microtextural context that aids in distinguishing collisional events. Here, we present new in-situ apatite U-Pb ages for nine L chondrite meteorites using secondary ionisation mass spectrometry.Our measurements greatly expand the L chondrite phosphate U-Pb age record and provide evidence for distinct stages in the thermal evolution of the L chondrite parent asteroid, including: early collisions driving parent body fragmentation- and/or exhumation-associated cooling at >4530 Ma; onion-shell-style cooling with waning radiogenic metamorphism until 4500 Ma; late collisional reheating from 4480–4460 Ma; parent body break-up at 474±22 Ma; and recent ejection events within several 10s of Myr of present day. We show that meteorite shock stage correlates with upper intercept age but is uncorrelated with lower intercept age. This outcome links the upper intercept ages alone to the preserved high-energy impact-related features in strongly shocked meteorites, which has important implications for our interpretation of the L chondrite U-Pb record.We see no evidence in our record for collisional episodes between 3000–4400 Ma, i.e., the Late Heavy Bombardment. Our upper intercept age record hints that collision rates changed as a result of some dynamical instability at 4460–4480 Ma, which may have strongly depleted the main asteroid belt, and/or that L asteroid physical structure changed such that the shock metamorphic response to collisions was muted after this time, e.g., by the formation of weak rubble pile bodies. L chondrite phosphate U-Pb ages provide evidence for a heterogeneous early and shared late (less than 500 Ma) thermal history for the majority of L chondrite meteorites falling to Earth today. From this observation, we infer that most L chondrites derive from a single parent asteroid (in existence from around 4500–4440 Ma to 474±22 Ma), which has since been disturbed to create an asteroid family. Our record of meteorite U-Pb ages traces out the thermal and dynamical evolution of the L chondrite asteroid. These observations can be used in future to benchmark dynamical models of Solar System evolution.

Environmental Sociology Approach From A Social Risk Perspective

Environmental problems are a problem for society and are problems that threaten the patterns of social organization that exist in society because environmental problems are human creations, so humans must also find a solution. Social risk is related to uncertainty. This uncertainty occurs due to the lack or unavailability of sufficient information about what will happen. The sociological perspective is part of environmental analysis and is very important because society and the environment cannot be separated. Humans are the worst environmental risk due to their inability to recognize environmental problems and their lack of effort to tackle them. However, humans are also the key to solving environmental problems. It is not impossible for humans to prepare for good environmental risk management from now on. Environmental problems are a reality that must be faced by all humans on earth today. For this reason, a critical analysis of the social risks to society is required. Based on a literature review, modernization through the mastery of technology and science has created a technocratic society where the risk of environmental damage becomes a disaster for mankind.

Space food packaging: A review of its past, present and future materials and technologies

Abstract20 July 1969: approximately 240 000 mi away from Earth, two astronauts named Neil Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. landed on the moon. 20 October 2020: approximately 200 million miles away from Earth, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) managed to land a spacecraft on an asteroid named Bennu and collect a sample from its surface. Sometime 2030s: approximately 34 million miles away from Earth, NASA is looking to successfully send humans to Mars. So, why is all this important? The effects of climate change are apparent on Earth today—temperatures around the world higher than normal, a rising sea level, natural disasters increasing in frequency and strength—and these effects continue to become ever more apparent as time goes on; thus, there is a need for solutions, which outer space has become one that is simultaneously grown in seriousness over the years. Colonizing space, traveling to distant planets and inhabiting them, these are definite possibilities for humans, as evidenced above by the remarkable progress NASA has made; however, one of the biggest obstacles NASA is dealing with in bringing those possibilities into fruition is their food system—all the actors and interactions within a food chain, meaning those who grow the food, those who process the food, those who transport the food, those who sell the food and finally, those who consume and dispose of the food. The shelf life of NASA's current food system will not last past 18 months in the unique environment of space, where there are the hazards of galactic cosmic rays, solar radiation and microgravity. Recognizing this—essentially recognizing that achieving such aforementioned feats would require a food system that can last much longer—NASA and others have constantly been researching and experimenting with their food system, ranging from how its food is grown, processed and preserved to the focus of this literature review: how it is packaged. Henceforth, the purpose of this literature review is to chronologically look at and discuss the major materials and technologies used in NASA's space food packaging of the past—the 1960s–1970s—look at and discuss those of the present—the 1980s–2000s—and finally, look ahead and discuss those of the future, entailing materials and technologies currently being worked on or considered for future use in NASA space missions. At that, here's to 60 years of activity in space.

Nanopesticides: Promising Future in Sustainable Pest Management

Insects form the most successful and diverse group of animals present on earth today. Humans have shared a complex relationship with the insects. Though insects are indispensable as pollinators of crops yet at the same time they act as major destroyer of grains, pulses and fruits in the fields along with their post- harvest storage. Many of the dreadful diseases are also being transmitted by insect vectors to humans, livestock and other animals. Economic damage caused by insect pests is enormous. Adoption of advanced pest management strategies can alleviate the monetary losses substantially. Nanotechnological approach for pest control is an emerging and effective technique since it encompasses a wide range of objectives of an efficient pesticide like increased dispersion and solubility, slow release, controlled delivery system and protection against degradation. Newer formulations of pesticides with the intervention of nanotechnology are aimed to enhance their pesticidal properties. Insecticide formulations using nanomaterials as carriers of active ingredient have shown promising results for mitigation of pests of agriculture, storage and disease vectors. However, at present the knowledge is limited. There is a need for extensive evaluation of the toxicity of nanopesticides and the risks involved for humans and environment before their large-scale production and adoption.
 In this review article nanoformulations of pesticides with special emphasis on metal-based nanopesticides and their role as efficient alternatives in sustainable control of insect pests without much adverse impact on the environment has been summarized.

Past climates and plant migration – the significance of the fossil record

This article is a Commentary on Denk et al. (2023), 238: 2668–2684.

Prefatory Note from the Editor: Introducing NSJPGS: The Inaugural Issue

With this inaugural issue of the North South Journal of Peace and Global Studies, the Center for Peace Studies (CPS) and the South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG) at North South University (NSU) begin an important intellectual journey that represents the aspirations of the affiliated faculty and staff to broaden a commitment to peace education and peace building in the South Asia region and beyond. The designation ‘North South’ in the journal title is intended to indicate the intellectual linkage and bridging of the concerns of the two geographic hemispheres concerning the diverse ways in which peace and global studies are conceptualized and engaged in qualitative and quantitative research. Today, the circulating concepts in use are “the Global North” and “the Global South,” in contrast to the earlier “EastWest” discourse of geopolitics. Thus, there should be an intellectual linkage between “North South” in the interest of peace and global studies. Peace, of course, is a fundamental value expressive of concern for the greater human interest above and beyond the contemporary configuration of international relations and the diverse national interests pursued by nation-states. Peace is a value essential to the achievement of a just and humane world order. As such, it is a trans-national and transgenerational value having normative standing. Proponents of peace seek to respond to the manifested needs of diverse peoples across the face of the earth today. But, they also seek to account responsibly for the rights of future generations and the moral and legal obligations we in the present have to our near- and far-term descendants. This is a matter of safeguarding the future against global catastrophe and loss of our common cultural and intellectual heritage that includes the contributions of various civilizations.